I love role-playing games (RPGs). They are deeply involving and keep you engrossed in stories that satisfy your desire for sci-fi or fantasy fiction. However, they also take a long time to get through. As a functioning adult with a lot of responsibilities, I just don’t have time to play very many RPGs all the way to the end.

Dreeps: Alarm Playing Game is perfect for gamers that just don’t have time to do the work to get through the story in RPGs. All you do is set an alarm and your young adventurer will go on his quest to save the world whether you are there or not. We’ve got a hands-on (or is it hands-off?) game review of dreeps for you today.

Concept

The idea behind this game is that the protagonist will play through the game by himself. You won’t do anything except set an alarm each night and turn it off each morning. The robot-boy will traverse dangerous landscapes, fight enemy bosses, gain experience, and level up throughout the day. You can check in with him to see how he is doing, or simply leave him to do his business without you.

Design

The pixelated graphics have a sort of Steampunk style. The story is based in both science and fantasy fiction. The hero is a robot boy with some kind of staff that shoots electricity. Along the way, he will fight cyborgs and robots and meet magicians and robot loving travelers.

The awesome chip-tune soundtrack is enough to make you buy the app on its own. Players can open the game and watch the action unfold while soaking in the beauty of 16-bit graphics and relaxing sounds of chip-tune music.

Gameplay

There really isn’t any gameplay. However, you must set up your adventure. The first time you start a game, your robot boy will automatically begin his quest. After that, you must replenish his hit points by sending him into stasis for the night.

After testing the game throughout the weekend I discovered a few things about this game. First off, it is difficult to understand how to set the alarm, so I’ll walk you through it right now.

Tap the plus (+) icon in the upper left corner of the screen. Flip the switch for your current game up. This will send your robot boy back to the lab for his refresh phase. Then, tap the series of zeros above until you set an alarm. Then, close the menu screen and wait for the alarm to go off. You will know that the robot boy is sleeping when the only thing on the screen is an electric sheep.

When the alarm goes off, tap the big blue button and the robot boy will continue his adventure.

Another thing I noticed is that, if your robot boy loses a battle while you are watching, you can replenish his hit points by tapping him. You’ll be able to tell something is wrong because he will go down on his knees and he will emit an electric pulse. Tap him and he will stand up and start back on his adventure.

The Good

I love watching my robot boy progress throughout the day while I’m busy writing, reading, or testing other apps. He continues to gain experience points and level up while I’m taking care of my life.

The Bad

It took me days to understand the alarm setting system. There needs to be more information on how to set it.

Value

Dreeps: Alarm Playing Game costs $2.99. Since you aren’t doing any actual gaming, the price does seem a bit steep. However, a very small team of three developers with a sincere love of role-playing games created it. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements, so your three dollars go to help these starving game makers continue to do what they love.

Conclusion

I found this game to be truly endearing. If you enjoy RPGs, you should get this game. It’s like having a living piece of RPG artwork right on your iPhone. It is definitely worth the price for fans of the genre. Download it in the App Store today.